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Broadcasting Act
No. 4 of 1999
[ASSENTED TO 23 APRIL, 1999]
[DATE OF COMMENCEMENT: 30 JUNE, 1999]
(English text signed by the President.)
Electronic Communications Act No. 36 of 2005
ACT
To repeal the Broadcasting Act, 1976 (Act No. 73 of 1976), so as to establish a new
broadcasting policy for the Republic; to amend certain provisions of the
Independent Broadcasting Authority Act, 1993 (Act No. 153 of 1993); to clarify the
powers of the Minister in regard to policy formulation and the Authority's powers
with respect to the regulation and licensing of the Broadcasting system; to provide for
classes of broadcasting activities in the public interest and for that purpose
to provide a Charter for the South African Broadcasting Corporation Ltd;
to establish the South African Broadcasting Production Advisory Body; andto establish a human resource capacity in policy development;
and to provide for matters connected therewith.
[Long Title amended by Section 97 of Act No. 36 of 2005]
Preamble
Noting that the South African broadcasting system comprises public, commercial and
community elements, and the system makes use of radio frequencies that are public
property and provides, through its programming, a public service necessary for themaintenance of a South African identity, universal access, equality, unity and diversity;
Acknowledging that the South African broadcasting services are owned and controlled bySouth Africans;
Realising that the broadcasting system must reflect the identity and diverse nature of
South Africa, is controlled and managed by persons or groups of persons from a diverse
range of communities, including persons from previously disadvantaged groups, and mustreflect the multilingual and diverse nature of South Africa by promoting the entire
spectrum of cultural backgrounds, religious backgrounds and official languages in the
Republic;
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Encouraging the development of South African expression by providing a wide range of
programming that refers to South African opinions, ideas, values and artistic creativity by
displaying South African talent in radio and television programming and by making use ofradio frequencies that are public property and that provide a public service necessary for
the maintenance of national identity, universal access, equality, unity and diversity; and
Resolving to align the broadcasting system with the democratic values of the Constitution
and to enhance and protect the fundamental sights of citizens,
[Preamble amended by Section 1 of Act No. 64 of 2002]
BE IT THEREFORE ENACTED by the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, as
follows:-
INDEX
CHAPTER I
FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES AND INTERPRETATION
1. Definitions and interpretation
2. Object of Act
CHAPTER II
SOUTH AFRICAN BROADCASTING SYSTEM
3. South African broadcasting system
CHAPTER III
CLASSIFICATION OF BROADCASTING SERVICESPart l: Broadcasting licenses
4. Licences
5. Classes of licences
CHAPTER IV
PUBLIC BROADCASTING SERVICE AND CHARTER OF CORPORATION
Part l: Public broadcasting service
6. South African Broadcasting Corporation
CHARTER OF CORPORATIONPart 2: Incorporation, objectives and organisation of Corporation
7. Incorporation
8. Objectives of Corporation
9. Organisation
Part 3: Public service
10. Public service
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Part 4: Commercial services
11. Commercial services
Part 5: Governance of Corporation
12. Composition of Board
13. Members of Board14. Executive committee
15. Removal from office
16. Disqualification17. Disclosure of conflict of interests
Part 6: Financial matters
18. Financial regulations
19. Shareholding
20.
Financial year and annual financial statements21. Rights and obligations
22. Transfer of assets23. Borrowing powers
24. Accounts25. Auditing
Part 7: Staffing of Corporation
26. Staff of Corporation
27. Television licences
28. Annual report
CHAPTER V
COMMERCIAL BROADCASTING SERVICES
Part l: Licence requirements and objectives
29. Requirement to hold a licence
30. Objectives
Part 2: Subscription broadcasting service
31. Subscription television service
CHAPTER VI
COMMUNITY BROADCASTING SERVICES
32. Community broadcasting services
CHAPTER VII
SIGNAL DISTRIBUTION AND MULTI-CHANNEL DISTRIBUTION
Part l: Signal distribution and objectives
33. Signal distribution34. Objectives
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Part 2: Multi-channel distributors
35. Multi-channel distributors
36. Objectives
CHAPTER V111
FREQUENCY SPECTRUM DIRECTOFUTE
37. Frequency Spectrum Directorate
CHAPTER IX
ADVISORY BODY TO MINISTER
38. South African Broadcast Production Advisory Body
CHAPTER X
SKILLS DEVELOPMENT
39. Human resources development
CHAPTER XI
GENERAL
40. Regulations
41. Repeal and amendment of laws
42. Application of this Act
43. Short title and commencement
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CHAPTER I
FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES AND INTERPRETATION
This Chapter sets out the fundamental principles and objects of this Act. Freedom ofexpression and the journalistic, creative and programming independence of the
broadcasters and independence of regulation are identified as guaranteed by the
Constitution. These principles recognise that the South African broadcasting system
comprises public, commercial and community elements which make use of the radio
frequencies that are public property and provides, through its programming, a public
service necessary for the maintenance of South African identity, universal access,
equality, unity and diversity.
This Chapter also contains definitions explaining the meaning of certain words for the
purpose of the Act and provisions regarding the interpretation of the Act.
Definitions and interpretation
1. (1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise indicates, radio, sound
broadcasting service and television set have the meaning assigned thereto in theElectronic Communications Act, and
Advisory Body means the South African Broadcast Production AdvisoryBody established in terms of section 38 of this Act;
appointing body means the body charged with the appointment of members
of the Board in terms of section 13 of this Act;
authorised inspector means an authorised inspector appointed by the
Corporation in terms of section 27(6) of this Act;
[Definition ofauthorised inspector inserted by Section 2(a) of Act No. 64 of 2002]
Authority means the Independent Communications Authority of South
Africa established by section 3 of theIndependent Communications Authorityof South Africa Act, 2000;
[Definition ofAuthority substituted by Section 23 of Act No. 13 of 2000]
Board means the Corporation;
[Definition ofBoard substituted by Section 2(b) of Act No. 64 of 2002]
broadcaster means any legal or natural person who composes or packages
television or radio programme services for reception by the public or sectionsof the public or subscribers to such a service irrespective of technology used;
[Definition ofbroadcaster substituted by Section 2(c) of Act No. 64 of 2002]
broadcasting means any form of unidirectional electronic communications
intended for the public, sections of the public or subscribers to any broadcasting
service having appropriate receiving facilities, whether carried by means of
radio frequency spectrum or any other electronic communications network orany combination of the aforementioned, and broadcast is construed
accordingly;
[Definition ofbroadcasting amended by Section 97 of Act No. 36 of 2005]
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broadcasting licence means a licence granted and issued by the Authority in
terms of this Act or the Electronic Communications Act, to a person for the
purpose of providing a defined category of broadcasting service, or deemed bythis Act or the Electronic Communications Act, to have been so granted and
issued;
[Definition ofbroadcasting licence substituted by Section 2(d) of Act No. 64 of 2002]
broadcasting licensee means the holder of a broadcasting licence;
broadcasting service means broadcasting service as defined in the
Electronic Communications Act;
[Definition ofbroadcasting service substituted by Section 97 of Act No. 36 of 2005]
broadcasting services frequency bands means that part of theelectromagnetic radio frequency spectrum which is allocated for the use of
broadcasting services by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), in
so far as such allocation has been agreed to or adopted by the Republic;broadcasting signal distribution means the process whereby the output
signal of a broadcasting service is taken from the point of origin, being thepoint where such signal is made available in its final content format, from
where it is conveyed to any broadcast target area by means of electroniccommunications and includes multi-channel distribution;
[Definition ofbroadcasting signal distribution substituted by Section 97 of Act No. 36
of 2005]
broadcasting signal distribution licence means an electronic
communications service licence where the holder of the electronic
communications service licence provides a broadcasting signal distribution
service;
[Definition ofbroadcasting signal distribution licence substituted by Section 2(e) of
Act No. 64 of 2002][Definition ofbroadcasting signal distribution licence substituted by Section 97 of
Act No. 36 of 2005]
broadcasting signal distribution licensee
[Definition ofbroadcasting signal distribution licensee repealed by Section 97 of Act
No. 36 of 2005]
broadcasting signal distribution service means a service whereby
broadcasting signal distribution is provided;
[Definition ofbroadcasting signal distribution service inserted by Section 2(f) of
Act No. 64 of 2002]
business, for the purpose of the definition of record and section 27 means
a person who uses a television set -(a) in the course of conducting his or her business;(b) in the course of exchanging in commercial transactions;(c) as part of his or her activities for gain; or(d) on premises which are occupied for business purposes
but excludes a dealer and lessor
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[Definition ofbusiness inserted by Section 2(f) of ActNo. 64 of 2002]
channel means a single defined programming service of a licensee other than
a video on demand service;
[Definition ofchannel substituted by Section 2(g) of Act No. 64 of 2002]
commercial broadcasting service means a broadcasting service operating
for profit or as part of a profit entity but excludes any broadcasting service
provided by a public broadcasting licensee;commercial service division means the commercial service division of the
Corporation contemplated in section 9(l)(b);
[Definition ofcommercial service division inserted by Section 2(h) of ActNo. 64 of2002]
common carrier means a service for broadcasting signal distribution asprovided by Sentech Limited, 'established in terns of the Sentech Act, 1996;
companies Act means the Companies Act, 1973 (Act No. 61 of 1973);community includes a geographically founded community or any group of
persons or sector of the public having a specific, ascertainable commoninterest:
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operated broadcasting service provided by a person referred to in
paragraph (a), (b) or(c) of this definition;
public service division means the public service division of the Corporationcontemplated in section 9(l)(a);
[Definition ofpublic service division inserted by Section 2(t) of Act No. 64 of 2002]
Public Finance Management Act means the Public Finance ManagementAct, 1999 (Act No. 1 of 1999);
[Definition ofPublic Finance Management Act inserted by Section 2(t) of Act No. 64of 2002]
radio means radio as defined in the Electronic Communications Act;
[Definition ofradio substituted by Section 97 of Act No. 36 of 2005]
record means the information as prescribed which mist be provided by abusiness or dealer or such information as is reasonably required by an
authorised inspector in order to determine whether a business or dealer hascomplied with this Act;
[Definition ofrecord inserted by Section 2(u) of Act No. 64 of 2002]
Registrar means the Registrar of Companies, as defined in the Companies
Act;
[Definition ofRegistrar inserted by Section 2(u) of Act No. 64 of 2002]
regulation means a regulation made under section 40 but excludes financial
regulations made under section 18;
[Definition ofregulation inserted by Section 2(u) of Act No. 64 of 2002]
satellite broadcasting service means a service which is broadcast by
transmitters situated on a satellite;
sound broadcasting service means a broadcasting service destined to be
received by a sound radio set;sound radio set means any apparatus designed or adapted to be capable of
receiving by radio the transmissions broadcast by a broadcasting service, and
reproducing them in the form of sounds, but not also in the form of images or
other visible signs or signals;subscription broadcasting service means a broadcasting service provided
to an end user upon the payment of a fee;
telecommunications
[Definition oftelecommunications repealed by Section 97 of Act No. 36 of 2005]
television broadcasting service means a broadcasting service consisting in
the sending of visual images of other visible signals whether with or withoutaccompanying sounds, where the visual images are such that sequences of them
are seen as moving pictures;
television licence means a current and valid written licence issued in terms
of this Act for the use of a television set;
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[Definition oftelevision licence inserted by Section 2(v) of Act No. 64 of 2002]
television licence fee means a fee prescribed in terms of this Act and payablefor the use of a television set;
[Definition oftelevision licence fee inserted by Section 2(v) of Act No. 64 of 2002]
terrestrial broadcasting service means a service that is broadcast from atransmitter situated upon the earth's surface;
use means the use or possession of a television set or permitting any other
person to use or possess a television set and the words 'user' and 'used' areconstrued accordingly;
[Definition ofuse inserted by Section 2(w) of Act No. 64 of 2002]
transfer date
[Definition oftransfer date deleted by Section 2(x) of Act No. 64 of 2002]
(2) Any interpretation of the provisions of this Act must be construed andapplied in a manner which is consistent with freedom of expression and the
journalistic, creative and programming independence of the broadcastersguaranteed by the Constitution.
(3)
[Subsection (3) deleted by Section 2(y) of Act No. 64 of 2002]
[Section 1 amended by Section 97 of Act No. 36 of 2005]
Object of Act
2. The object of this Act is to establish and develop a broadcasting policy in the
Republic in the public interest and for that purpose to-(a) contribute to democracy, development of society, gender equality, nation
building, provision of education and strengthening the spiritual andmoral fibre of society;
(b) safeguard, enrich and strengthen the cultural, political, social andeconomic fabric of South Africa;
(c) encourage ownership and control of broadcasting services throughparticipation by persons from historically disadvantaged groups;
(d) ensure plurality of news, views and information and provide a widerange of entertainment and education programmes;
(e) cater for a broad range of services and specifically for the programmingneeds in respect of children, women, the youth and the disabled;
(f) encourage the development of human resources and training, andcapacity building within the broadcasting sector especially amongsthistorically disadvantaged groups;
(g) encourage investment in the broadcasting sector;(h) ensure fair competition in the broadcasting sector;(i) ensure efficient use of the broadcasting frequency spectrum;(j) provide a clear allocation of roles and assignment of tasks between
policy formulation, regulation and service provision as well as
articulation of long-term and intermediate-term goals;(k) provide for a three tier system of public, commercial and community
broadcasting services;
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(l) establish a strong and committed public broadcasting service which willservice the needs of all South African society;
(m)ensure that the commercial and community licences, viewed collectively,are controlled by persons or groups of persons from a diverse range of
communities in South Africa;(n) ensure that broadcasting services are effectively controlled by South
Africans;(o) integrate multi-channel distribution systems into the broadcasting
framework;
(p) provide access to signal distribution services for content providers;(q) provide access to signal distribution services for broadcast content
receivers;
(r) encourage the development of local programming contentCHAPTER II
SOUTH AFRICAN BROADCASTING SYSTEM
This Chapter is of central significance to the Act, as it lays the basis that the South
African broadcasting system is owned and controlled by South Africans. The National
Government, acting through the Minister, is responsible for the achievement of this
purpose and the constitutional mandate of broadcasting policy development. Being
empowered to act on behalf of the nation, the Minister has the ultimate responsibility to
fulfil certain obligations relating to use, protection and access to broadcasting resources.
South African broadcasting system
3. (1) The South African broadcasting system-(a) serves to safeguard, enrich and strengthen the cultural, political, social
and economic fabric of South Africa;(b) operates in the public interest and strengthens the spiritual and moral
fibre of society;(c) ensures that the broadcasting system is controlled by persons or groups
of persons from a diverse range of communities in South Africa andwithin each element promotes ownership, control and management of
broadcasting services by persons from historically disadvantaged groups;
(d) encourages fair competition in the provision of programmes and services(2) Subject to subsection (l), the Minister is ultimately responsible to develop
policy that is required from time to time.
(3) Public and commercial broadcasting services must comply with
international technical standards and the broadcasting system must be readily
adaptable to scientific and technological advances.(4) The broadcasting system, as a whole, must provide educational
programming, and where such programming is provided by a dedicated
education service, must be extended throughout the Republic within thefinancial resources.
(5) The programming provided by the South African broadcasting system must
(a) be varied and comprehensive, providing a balance of information,education and entertainment meeting the broadcasting needs of the entire
South African population in terms of age, race, gender, religion, interestsand backgrounds;
[Paragraph (a) substituted by Section 3(a) of Act No. 64 of 2002]
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(b) be varied and offer a range of South African content and analysis from aSouth African perspective;
(c) must be drawn from local, regional, national and international sources;(d) provide a reasonable, balanced opportunity for the public to receive a
variety of points of view on matters of public concern;(e) provide a significant place for programmes produced by the independent
production sector;(f) comply with a code of conduct for broadcasting services as prescribed in
terms of the Electronic Communications Act;
[Paragraph (f) substituted by Section 3(b) of Act No. 64 of 2002][Paragraph (f) amended by Section 97 of Act No. 36 of 2005]
(6) A range of programming in the Republic's official languages must be
extended to all South Africans as circumstances permit.(7) The human resources development strategy for the broadcasting sector must
be viewed holistically in terms of qualification standards, skills development,
teaching, inter-relationships with the complementary sectors and the funding ofthe training system.
CHAPTER III
This Chapter emphasises the need to adopt a more comprehensive approach to
broadcasting and broadcasting services to be in line with international practices and
technological developments.
Part 1: Broadcasting licences
Licences
4.
[Section 4 substituted by Section 4 of Act No. 64 of 2002][Section 4 repealed by Section 97 of Act No. 36 of 2005]
Classes of licences
5. (1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Authority may, on such conditions
as it may determine, issue a sound or television broadcasting service licence for
a specified area in the following broadcasting service categories:(a) a public broadcasting service;(b) a commercial broadcasting service; and(c) a community broadcasting service.
(2) Subject to this Act, broadcasting licences are categorised as-(a) free-to-air broadcasting service;(b) terrestrial subscription broadcasting service;(c) satellite subscription broadcasting service;(d) cable subscription broadcasting service;(e) low power sound broadcasting service; and(f) any other class of licence prescribed by the Authority from time to time
[Subsection (2) substituted by Section 5(a) of Act No. 64 of 2002]
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(3) Applications for broadcasting licences must be made in terms of the
applicable provisions of the Electronic Communications Act and any
regulations prescribed thereunder.
[Subsection (3) added by Section 5(b) of Act No. 64 of 2002][Subsection (3) amended by Section 97 of Act No. 36 of 2005]
CHAPTER IV
PUBLIC BROADCASTING SERVICE AND CHARTER OF CORPORATION
This Chapter provides for the incorporation of the Corporation and for the Charter. The
Charter is dealt with by Parliament as part of the broad national policy framework. The
Authority monitors and enforces compliance with the provisions of the Charter of the
Corporation.
Part 1: Public broadcasting service
Charter of Corporation
6. (1) The Corporation must comply with the Charter as outlined in this part.
(2) The Authority must monitor and enforce compliance with the Charter by theCorporation.
(3) In terms of this Charter, the Corporation, in pursuit of its objectives and in
the exercise of its powers, enjoys freedom of expression and journalistic,
creative and programming independence as enshrined in the Constitution.
(4) The Corporation must encourage the development of South Africanexpression by providing, in South African official languages, a wide range of
programming that- .(a) reflects South African attitudes, opinions, ideas, values and artistic
creativity;
(b) displays South African talent in education and entertainmentprogrammes;
(c) offers a plurality of views and a variety of news, information andanalysis from a South African point of view;
(d) advances the national and interest.(5)(a) The Board must prepare and submit to the Authority not later than three
months after the date of conversion, policies that will ensure compliance withthe Authority's Code of Conduct as prescribed and with the Corporation's
licence conditions and with the objectives contained in this Act, including:
(i) News editorial policy;
(ii) programming policy;(iii) local content policy;
(iv) educational policy;
(v) universal service and access policy;(vi) language policy; and
(vii) religious policy.
(b) The Corporation must notify the Authority in writing of any amendments to
the policies referred to in paragraph (a) as soon as reasonably possible.
(6) The Board must ensure that there is public participation in the developmentof the policies referred to in subsection (5) by inviting and considering public
comment on such draft policies and by other means.
(7) The Corporation must provide suitable means for regular inputs of public
opinion on its services and ensure that such public opinion is given dueconsideration.
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(8) The Corporation must develop a Code of Practice that ensures that the
services and the personnel comply with-(a) the constitutional principle of equality;(b) the equitable treatment of all segments of the South African population;(c) the constitutional requirement of equitable treatment of all officiallanguages;(d) the rights of all South Africans to receive and impart information and
ideas;(e) the mandate to provide for a wide range of audience interests, beliefs and
perspectives; and(f) a high standard of accuracy, fairness and impartiality in news and
programmes that deal with matters of public interest.".
[Section 6 substituted by Section 6 of Act No. 64 of 2002]
CHARTER OF CORPORATION
Part 2: Establishment, incorporation, objectives and organisation of Corporation.
Incorporation
7.
[Section 7 repealed by Section 7 of Act No. 64 of 2002]
Objectives of corporation
8. The objectives of the Corporation are-(a) to make its services available throughout the Republic;(b) to provide sound and television broadcasting services, whether by
analogue or digital means, and to provide sound and television
programmes of information, education and entertainment funded byadvertisements, subscription, sponsorship, licence fees or any other
means of finance;(c) to acquire from time to time a licence or licences for such period and
subject to such regulations, provisions and licence conditions as may be
prescribed by the Authority;(d) to provide, in its public broadcasting services, radio and television
programming that informs, educates and entertains;
(e) to be responsive to audience needs, including the needs of the deaf andthe blind and account on how to meet those needs;
[Paragraph (e) substituted by Section 8of Act No. 64 of 2002]
(f) to provide other services, whether or not broadcasting or programmesupply services, such services being ancillary services;
(g) to provide television and radio programmes and any other material to betransmitted or distributed by the common carrier for free to air reception
by the public subject to section 33 of this Act;(h) to provide to other bodies by such means and methods as may be
convenient, services, programmes and materials to be transmitted or
distributed by such bodies and to receive from such other bodies
services, programmes and materials to be transmitted by stations of the
Corporation for reception as above;
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(i) to commission, compile, prepare, edit, make, print, publish, issue,circulate and distribute, with or without charge, such books, magazines,
periodicals, journals, printed matter, records, cassettes, compact disks,video tapes, audio-visual and interactive material, whether analogue or
digital and whether on media now known or hereafter invented, as maybe conducive to any of the objects of the Corporation;
(j) to establish and maintain libraries and archives containing materialsrelevant to the objects of the Corporation and to make available to the
public such libraries and archives with or without charge;
(k) to organise, present, produce, provide or subsidise concerts, shows,variety performances, revues, musical and other productions and
performances and other entertainment whether live or recorded in
connection with the broadcasting and programme supply services of the
Corporation or for any purpose incidental thereto;(l) to collect news and information in any part of the world and in any
manner that may be thought fit and to establish and subscribe to news
agencies;
(m)to carry out research and development work in relation to anytechnology relevant to the objects of the Corporation and to acquire by
operation of law, registration, purchase, assignment, licence or otherwisecopyright and designs, trade marks, trade names and any other
intellectual, industrial and commercial property rights;(n) to nurture South African talent and train people in production skills and
carry out research and development for the benefit of audiences;
(o) to develop, produce, manufacture, purchase, acquire, use, display, sell,rent or dispose of sound recordings and films-and materials and
apparatus for use in connection with such sound recordings and films;(p) to develop and extend the services of the Corporation beyond the borders
of South Africa
Conversion
8A. (1) The old Corporation is, with effect from a date determined by the
Minister by notice in the Gazette, which may be a date prior to thecommencement of this Act, deemed to be a public company incorporated in
terms of the Companies Act, to be known as the South African Broadcasting
Corporation Limited.
(2) The Corporation must have a share capital as contemplated in section 19 ofthe Companies Act with the State as its sole shareholder with effect from the
date of conversion.
(3) The Minister must determine the memorandum and articles of association of
the Corporation and must submit these to the Registrar at least a week prior tothe date of the notice contemplated in subsection (1).
(4) The Registrar must, on the date of the notice contemplated in subsection (I),
register the memorandum and the articles of association of the Corporation interms of section 63(1) of the Companies Act and issue a certificate of
incorporation and a certificate to commence business to the Corporation, but no
fees are payable in respect of such registration or issue.
(5) With effect from the date of conversion the Companies Act applies to the
Corporation as if it had been incorporated in terms of the Companies Act onthat date, save to the extent stipulated in this Act.
(6) Sections 32, 44, 54(2), 60, 63(2), 64, 65, 66, 172, 190 and 344(b) and(d) of
the Companies Act do not apply to the Corporation.
(7) All references in this Act to the conversion of the old Corporation must beconstrued as references to the conversion of the old Corporation into a public
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company having a share capital and having been incorporated in terms of the
Companies Act as stipulated in subsection (2).
(8) Neither the repeal of the Broadcasting Act, 1976 (Act No. 73 of 1976), northe conversion of the old Corporation affects-
(a) the continued corporate existence of the old Corporation with separatelegal personality as from the date of its first establishment;(b) any of the rights, assets, liabilities or obligations acquired or incurred by
the old Corporation or on behalf of the old Corporation at any timebefore its conversion;
(c) the terms and conditions of service and accrued benefits of itsemployees; or
(d) the validity of any act lawfully performed by or on behalf of the oldCorporation prior to the date of conversion.
(9) With effect from the date of conversion-(a) any reference to the old Corporation in any contract, statute, licence or
other written instrument -is deemed to be a reference to the Corporation;
(b) (i) any reference to the old Corporation in the patents register, trademarks register, design register, deeds register or any other register in theRepublic is, with effect from the date of conversion, deemed to be a
reference to the Corporation;(ii) the relevant registrar must make such entries or endorsements in any
register referred to in paragraph (i) or other documents in the registrar'soffice or submitted to the registrar as are necessary to give effect to the
conversion;
(iii) no fees or other levies are payable in respect of such entries or
endorsements.
(10) Any legal proceedings instituted by or against the old Corporation prior tothe date of conversion may, notwithstanding such conversion, be proceeded
with by or against the Corporation subject to the law governing the prescription
of claims.
(11)(a) The Minister of Finance, after consultation with the Minister, must
determine the tax values of the assets owned by the Corporation as at the dateof conversion for the purpose of calculating any wear and tear or capital
allowance or any deduction as contemplated in the Income Tax Act, 1962 (ActNo. 58 of 1962).
(b) The assets contemplated in paragraph (a) are for the purposes of sections
11(e), 12C and 13 of the Income Tax Act, 1962 (Act No. 58 of 1962), deemed
to have been brought into use for the first time at a cost equal to the valuedetermined in terms of paragraph (a).
(12)(a) The old Corporation must before the date of conversion conduct a legal
and financial due diligence investigation into the state of its affairs for the
purposes of identifying and establishing the status of all its assets, rights,obligations and liabilities.
(b) The old Corporation must submit to the Minister, by not later than three
months prior to the date of conversion, a legal and a financial due diligencereport containing details of all of such assets, rights, obligations and liabilities
and the implications of the contracts concluded by or on behalf of the old
Corporation in respect of such assets, rights, obligations and liabilities.
(13) The old Corporation must, after submitting the due diligence report to the
Minister and before the date of conversion, submit to the Minister-(a) an inventory of all its assets and liabilities;(b) details of its financial policies relating to the allocation of such assets
and liabilities between the public service division, the commercial
service division and the shared group services of the Corporation; and
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(c) details of its financial policies governing internal transfer pricingbetween the public service division, the commercial service division and
the shared group services of the Corporation.(14) The Minister must submit a copy of the inventory referred to in subsection
13(a) to the National Treasury and the Auditor-General.(15)(a) Any use by the public service division or the commercial service
division of any asset allocated to another division of the Corporation must be
accounted for in the respective financial records of the public service divisionand commercial service division to ensure that such use took place on an arm's
length commercial basis.(b) Any service rendered by or to the public service division or the commercialservice division to or by another division of the Corporation must be accounted
for in the respective financial records of the public service division and
commercial service division to ensure that such service was rendered on an
arm's length commercial basis.
[Section 8A inserted by Section 9 of Act No. 64 of 2002]
Organisation
9. (1) The Corporation must consist of two separate operational divisions, namely-
(a) a public service division; and(b) a commercial service division.
(2) The public and commercial service divisions must be separately
administered and a separate set of financial records and accounts are to be kept
in respect of each such division.
[Section 9 substituted by Section 10 of Act No. 64 of 2002]
Part 3: Public service
Public service
10. (1) The public service provided by the Corporation must -(a) make services available to South Africans in all the official languages;(b) reflect both the unity and diverse cultural and multilingual nature of
South Africa and all of its cultures and regions to audiences;(c) strive to be of high quality in all of the languages served;(d) provide significant news and public affairs programming which meets
the highest standards of journalism, as well as fair and unbiased
coverage, impartiality, balance and independence from government,
commercial and other interests;(e) include significant amounts of educational programming, both
curriculum-based and informal educative topics from a wide range of
social, political and economic issues, including, but not limited to,human rights, health, early childhood development, agriculture, culture,
religion , justice and commerce and contributing to a shared South
African consciousness and identity;
[Paragraph (e) substituted by Section 11(a) of Act No. 64 of 2002]
(f) enrich the cultural heritage of South Africa by providing support fortraditional and contemporary artistic expression;
(g) strive to offer a broad range of services targeting, particularly, children,women, the youth and the disabled;
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(h) include programmes made by the Corporation as well as thosecommissioned from the independent production sector; and
(i) include national sports programming as well as developmental andminority sports
(2) The public service provided by the Corporation may draw revenues fromadvertising and sponsorships, grants and donations, as well as licence fees,
levied in respect of the licensing of persons in relation to television sets, and
may receive grants from the State.(3) The old Corporation shall, by no later than three months prior to the date of
conversion, submit to the Minister for approval-(a) a proposed budget in respect of the public service division listing
revenue, expenditure, borrowings and appropriation of funds for the
financial year following the date of conversion; and
(b) a three year business plan containing details of operational plans,marketing and financial plans and policies prepared in compliance withthe objectives of the public service of the Corporation and in compliance
with the general objectives of this Act covering the public service
obligation of the Corporation in respect of the conduct of the business ofthe public service division for the three financial years following the date
of conversion.
[Subsection (3) added by Section 11(b) of Act No. 64 of 2002]
(4) The Board must-
(a) keep proper and accurate books and records of the financial affairs of thepublic service division separately from those of the commercial service
division;(b) procure in addition to the annual financial statements of the Corporation
drawn up in terms of section 20, audited annual financial statements
prepared in respect of the public service division in accordance with
generally accepted accounting practice separately from those in respect
of the commercial service division; and(c) submit to the Minister within four months after the end of the financial
year of the Corporation-(i) an annual written report on the activities of the public service
division during the financial year of the Corporation preceding the
date of the report;
(ii) the financial statements of the public service division for thepreceding financial year of the Corporation in question after the
statements have been audited by the auditors of the Corporation; and
(iii) the report of the auditors on the financial statements of the public
service division for the financial year of the Corporation.
[Subsection (4) added by Section 11(b) of Act No. 64 of 2002]
Part 4: Commercial services
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Commercial services
11. (1) The commercial services provided by the Corporation must-(a) be subject to the same policy and regulatory structures as outlined in this
Act for commercial broadcasting services;(b) comply with the values of the public broadcasting service in the
provision of programmes and service;(c) commission a significant amount of their programming from the
independent sector;
(d) subsidise the public services to the extent recommended by the Boardand approved by the Minister; and
(e) be operated in an efficient manner so as to maximise the revenuesprovided to its shareholder.
(2) The Corporation must, by not later than the date three months prior to the
date of conversion, submit to the Minister for approval -(a) a proposed budget in respect of the commercial service division listing
revenue, expenditure, borrowings and appropriation of funds for the
financial year following the date of conversion; and(b) a three-year business plan containing details of operational plans,marketing and financial plans and policies prepared in compliance withthe objectives of the commercial service of the Corporation and in
compliance with the general objectives of this Act covering thecommercial service obligation of the Corporation in respect of the
conduct of business of the commercial service division for the three
financial years following the date of conversion.
[Subsection (2) added by Section 12of Act No. 64 of 2002]
(3) The Board must-(a) keep proper and accurate books and records of the financial affairs of the
commercial service division separately from those of the public service
division;(b) procure in addition to the annual financial statements of the Corporation
drawn up in terms of section 20, audited annual financial statementsprepared in respect of the commercial service division in accordance
with generally accepted accounting practice separately from those in
respect of the public service division; and(c) submit to the Minister within four months after the end of the financial
year of the Corporation -
(i) an annual written report on the activities of the commercial service
division during the financial year of the Corporation preceding the
date of the report;(ii) the financial statements of the commercial service division for the
preceding financial year of the Corporation in question after the
statements have been audited by the auditors of the Corporation; and(iii) the report of the auditors on the financial statements of the
commercial service division for the financial year of the Corporation
[Subsection (3) added by Section 12of Act No. 64 of 2002]
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Part 5: Governance of Corporation
Composition of Board
12. The Board consists of-(a) twelve non-executive members;(b) the Group Chief Executive Officer, the Chief Operations Officer and the
Chief Financial Officer or their equivalents, who are the executivemembers of the Board.
[Paragraph (b) substituted by Section 13of Act No. 64 of 2002]
(c) [Paragraph (c) deleted by Section 13of Act No. 64 of 2002]
Members of Board
13. (1) The twelve non-executive members of the Board must be appointed by the
President on the advice of the National Assembly.(2) The non-executive members of the Board must be appointed in a manner
ensuring-(a) participation by the public in a nomination process;(b) transparency and openness; and 10(c) that a shortlist of candidates for appointment is published, taking into
account the objects and principles of this Act.
(3) The President must designate one of the members of the Board referred toin subsection (2) as the chairperson and another member as a deputy
chairperson, both of whom must be non-executive members of the Board.
(4) The members of the Board must, when viewed collectively-(a) be persons who are suited to serve on the Board by virtue of their
qualifications, expertise and experience in the fields of broadcastingpolicy and technology, broadcasting regulation, media law, frequency
planning, business practice and finance, marketing, journalism,entertainment and education, social and labour issues;
(b) be persons who are committed to fairness, freedom of expression, theright of the public to be informed, and openness and accountability on
the part of those holding public office;(c) represent a broad cross-section of the population of the Republic;(d) be persons who are committed to the objects and principles as
enunciated in the Charter of the Corporation
(5) The members of the Board must hold office for such period as the Presidentmay determine which period must not exceed five years.
(6) The deputy chairperson referred to in subsection (3) must, when the
chairperson is absent or unable to perform his or her duties, act in his or herstead and when so acting, exercise or perform any function of the chairperson.
(7) Every appointment of a member of the Board must be published in the
Gazette.
(8) A member of the Board appointed to fill a casual vacancy must hold office
for the unexpired portion of the period for which the vacating member wasappointed.
(9) The Board of the old Corporation as constituted on the date of conversion
constitutes the first Board of the Corporation.
[Subsection (9) substituted by Section 14(a) of Act No. 64 of 2002]
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(10) Nine members of the Board, which must include the chairperson or the
deputy chairperson, will constitute a quorum at any meeting of the Board.(11) The Board controls the affairs of the Corporation and must protect matters
referred to in section 6(2) of this Act.(12) The Board -
(a) must establish a public service subcommittee and a commercial servicesubcommittee -(i) to report to the Board on the extent to which the public service
division and the commercial service division have achieved their
objectives during the relevant period; and(ii) to perform such other functions regarding the organisation of the
Corporation into the public service division and the commercial
service division, respectively, as may be delegated to them by the
Board; and(b) may establish such other subcommittees as it deems appropriate from
time to time
[Subsection (12) added by Section 14(b) of Act No. 64 of 2002]
(13) The Board is the accounting authority of the Corporation.
[Subsection (13) added by Section 14(b) of Act No. 64 of 2002]
Executive committee
14. (1) The affairs of the Corporation are administered by an executive committeeconsisting of the Group Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer,
Chief Financial Officer and no more than 11 other members.
(2) The executive committee is accountable to the Board.
(3) The executive committttttttttttttttt2 /MCID 151e
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(5) The Corporation may with the approval of the Minister invest any surplus
funds of the Corporation.
(6) The surplus referred to in subsection (5) must at the end of a financial year,be carried over to the next financial year and form part of the budget of the
Corporation for that financial year.(7) Any dividends received by the State must be paid into the National Revenue
Fund.
Shareholding
19.
[Section 19 repealed by Section 16 of Act No. 64 of 2002]
Financial year and annual financial statements
20. (1) Subject to the provisions of section 285 of the Companies Act, the financial
year of the Corporation commences on 1 April and ends on 31 March of thefollowing year.
(2) In addition to the annual financial statements to be drawn up in terms of theCompanies Act the Minister may direct the Corporation to draw up annual
statements in a form determined by him or her.(3) The annual financial statements must be tabled by the Minister in the
National Assembly.
Rights and obligations
21. (1) The Corporation may not by virtue of the powers conferred upon it by this
Act do anything for which a licence is required in terms of the Electronic
Communications Act, unless it has obtained the licence in question and
complies with the conditions thereof.
[Subsection (1) amended by Section 97 of Act No. 36 of 2005]
(2) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in the Electronic
Communications Act, or any other law, the Corporation is entitled, against
payment of the annual fees which the Authority may from time to time
determine, to be issued with a licence contemplated in subsection (1).
[Subsection (2) amended by Section 97 of Act No. 36 of 2005]
(3) The corporation must provide the Authority with all necessary and relevantinformation for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the Charter.
Amendment of Broadcasting Licences
22. (1) The Corporation must, within six months of the date of commencement of
the Broadcasting Amendment Act, 2002, or the conversion date, whichever is
the later, apply to the Authority for such amendments to its existing licences as
are necessary in order to reflect the reorganisation of the Corporation into thepublic service division and the commercial service division and its related
obligations in terms of this Act and the Electronic Communications Act.
(2) The relevant provisions of the Electronic Communications Act apply with
the necessary changes to the applications referred to in subsection (1) but,irrespective of the contents of the application of the Corporation, the Authority
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may impose any appropriate licence conditions which are necessary in order to
reflect the reorganisation of the Corporation into the public service division and
the commercial service division and its related obligations in terms of this Actand the Electronic Communications Act.".
[Section 22 substituted by Section 17of Act No. 64 of 2002]
[Section 22 amended by Section 97 of Act No. 36 of 2005]
Regional television services
22A. (1)In the performance of its public service mandate under section 10(l)(a)and(b), the Corporation must, within nine months of the commencement of the
Broadcasting Amendment Act, 2002, apply to the Authority in terms of section
41(4) of the IBA Act, read with section 45(2) of that Act, to license it to
provide additional television services which broadcast -(a) regionally;(b) in such official languages as are appropriate, having regard to language
usage within respective regions served by the proposed services;(c) so as to ensure that between these regional services, broadcasting in thelanguages of Sepedi, Sesotho, Setswana, siSwati, TshiVenda, Xitsonga,Afrikaans, isiNdebele, isiXhosa and isiZulu is provided on an equitable
basis(2) The regional services provided by the Corporation must be funded by
money appropriated by Parliament and may draw revenues from grants,
donations and sponsorship.
(3) The Authority must determine the extent to which these services may draw
revenues from advertising.(4) The Corporation must draw up proper financial regulations for these
services consistent with section 18.
[Section 22A inserted by Section 18of Act No. 64 of 2002]
Borrowing powers
23. The Corporation must not borrow money without prior written approval of the
Minister and the Minister of Finance.
Accounts
24. (1) The Corporation must keep proper account of all moneys received or
expended by it and of all its assets, liabilities and financial transactions.
(2) The Corporation must as soon as practicable after the end of each financialyear, prepare statements of accounts and a balance sheet showing in appropriate
detail the revenues and expenditure of the Corporation during that financial
year, and its assets and liabilities as at the end of each financial year.(3) The Corporation must in its accounts referred to in subsection (2) reflect
separately the accounts of the public and commercial services.
(4) The Board must ensure that the Corporation complies with the Public
Finance Management Act in relation to accounting procedures by public
entities.
[Subsection (4) added by Section 19of Act No. 64 of 2002]
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Auditing
25. (1) In addition to the annual financial statements to be prepared in terms of theCompanies Act and also in terms of the Public Finance Management Act the
Corporation must cause its books and accounts to be audited annually by aperson registered as an accountant and auditor under the Public Accountants'
and Auditors' Act, 1991 (Act No. 80 of 199l), and appointed as auditor of the
Corporation.
[Subsection (1) substituted by Section 20of Act No. 64 of 2002]
(2) The Board must produce and lay before the auditor all books and accounts
of the Corporation with all vouchers in support thereof, and all books, papers
and writings relating thereto which are in its possession or control.
(3) For the purposes of the audit the auditor may hear and receive evidenceupon oath, and may by written notice under his hand require any person to
appear before him in person at a time and place stated in such notice, to give
information or produce any books or document necessary for the audit.(4) Any person appearing in terms of such a notice must be paid such witness
fees and allowances as he or she would have been entitled to if such personappeared in a magistrate's court as a witness.
(5) The auditor must-(a) disallow any payment made without proper authority according to law,
and report the disallowance to the Board;
(b) charge against the person who made or authorised the payment inquestion, so much of the payment as is not condoned by the Board;
(c) charge against the person responsible therefor -(i) as much of the amount of any deficiency or loss arising from
negligence or misconduct of that person as is not condoned by the
Board;
(ii) as much of any amount which ought to have been but was not
brought into account by that person as is not condoned by the Board,provided that no amount must be condoned where such deficiency
or loss is the result of theft or fraud by that person, and certify inevery case that the amount so charged is correct.
(6) Any amount so charged and certified by the auditor must be paid by the
person against whom it has been charged to the Corporation within fourteen
days after it was so certified, and, if not so paid, may be recovered from thatperson as a debt by the Corporation.
(7) It must be the duty of the auditor, in addition to his or her ordinary duties as
an auditor, to certify not less than once in every year-(a) whether or not, in his or her opinion-
(i) the accounts of the Corporation are in order;
(ii) such accounts present a true and correct view of the financial
position of the Corporation and of its transactions;(iii) due provision has been made for the redemption and repayment of
loans raised by the Corporation;
(iv) the value of the assets of the Corporation has been correctly stated;
and(b) whether or not all his or her requirements and recommendations as
auditor have been complied with and carried out.
(8) The expenses of or incidental to any audit must be borne by the
Corporation.
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Part 7: Staffing of Corporation
Staff of Corporation
26. (1) The Corporation may engage such officers and other employees as it maydeem necessary for the attainment of its objects, and may determine their duties
and salaries, wages, allowances or other remuneration and their other
conditions of service in general.(2) The Corporation may-
(a) establish a housing fund or in any other manner provide for housing toits officers and other employees on such terns and conditions as it maydetermine;
(b) establish or support associations or institutions for the promotion of theinterests of its officers and other employees of their dependants;
(c) establish or support aid funds for the rendering of assistance to itsofficers and other employees or their dependants under such
circumstances as it may approve;
(d)
establish a bursary fund to finance or assist in financing in the interest ofthe Corporation the training or further training of existing or prospective
officers and other employees of the Corporation; and(e) provide for its officers, other employees and pensioners or their
dependants, by means of insurance with an insurance company or bymeans of a pension or provident fund or in any other manner, pecuniary
benefits upon retirement or termination of service or at any other time.
(3)
[Subsection (3) deleted by Section 21of Act No. 64 of 2002]
(4)
[Subsection (4) deleted by Section 21of Act No. 64 of 2002]
(5)
[Subsection (5) deleted by Section 21of Act No. 64 of 2002]
(6)
[Subsection (6) deleted by Section 21of Act No. 64 of 2002]
(7)
[Subsection (7) deleted by Section 21of Act No. 64 of 2002]
Television licenses
27. (1)(a) No person may use any television set unless such person is in possession
of -
(i) a television licence issued by the Corporation against payment of the
prescribed fee for each television set so used, unless exempted byregulation; or
(ii) a written exemption pursuant to the regulations; or
(iii) written confirmation, issued by the lessor of the television set in
question that such person is a person to whom that television set hasbeen rented, or otherwise made available in accordance with this Act.
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(b) No business, dealer or lessor may use any television set unless-
(i) such business, dealer or lessor is in possession of a television licence
issued against payment of a prescribed fee in terms of this Act for eachtelevision set so used, unless exempted by regulation;
(ii) such television set is used in accordance with such licence; and(iii) such business, dealer or lessor is able to produce such licence on
demand.(c) A user who is required to be in possession of a television licence must
possess all the categories of television licences as prescribed, which pertain to
such use.
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a person who manufactures or repairstelevision sets, or who acts in the execution of his or her duties in the service of
such a person, in so far as he or she uses any television set manufactured or
repaired by him or her, in or on the premises where it was manufactured or
repaired or on any other premises approved by the Corporation, for thepurposes of testing such a television set.
(3) Any person who contravenes subsection (1) is, in addition to payment of the
prescribed licence fee, liable-(a) to pay to the Corporation by way of a penalty an amount equal to doublethe amount of the applicable prescribed licence fee; or
(b) in the event of a user proving that he or she had used the television setfor a period of less than one year, to pay to the Corporation, by way of a
penalty, in respect of every month or part of a month during which such
a person had failed to take out such television licence, an amount equal
to 10% of the applicable prescribed television licence fee provided that
the total amount of the penalty may not exceed the amount of such
television licence fee, unless otherwise prescribed.(4) A dealer who sells or alienates a television set to a person who is not in
possession of a television licence and who is not exempted from the obligation
to be in possession of a television licence, is liable to pay apenalty of R3 000
or such higher amount as may be prescribed, but such penalty may not exceed
R10 000 in respect of each television set sold or alienated to such person.(5) notwithstanding subsections (3) and (4), any person who -
(a) contravenes or fails to comply with any provision of this section or anyregulations pertaining to television licence matters; or
(b) after an authorised inspector, referred to in subsection (6), has producedhis or her written authority to such person fails, without good reason, to
comply with any lawful demand made by that authorised inspector, isguilty of an offence in relation to each television set in respect of which
the offence is committed and is liable upon conviction to a fine not
exceeding R500 in relation to each such offence or to imprisonment for a
period not exceeding six months or to both such fine and suchimprisonment.
(6)(a) The Corporation may appoint any person as an authorised inspector.
(b) An authorised inspector may (i) require a person who is required in terms of subsection (1) to be in
possession of a television licence to produce such television licence
for inspection;
(ii) require a person who uses a television set, or a person who is the
owner or occupier of any premises on which a television set is used, toproduce such television set for examination, in order to determine
whether the provisions of this Act have been complied with;
(iii) require a person who uses a television set to furnish his or her identity
document or licence registration number, whichever is applicable;
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(iv) require a person who uses a television set, or a person who is the
owner or occupier of any premises on which a television set is used, to
furnish such information as may be prescribed or necessary in order todetermine whether this Act has been complied with;
(v) require a business, dealer or lessor to produce records relating totransactions involving television sets for inspection, and make extracts
there from or copies thereof;
(vi) enter upon any land, in so far as this may be necessary, in order toexercise a power conferred on him or her by this Act: Provided that
entry may not be gained to a residence after dark without a warrant or
the occupier's permission.(7) A television licence is not transferable, save as may be prescribed.
(8) All television licence fees collected by the Corporation must be used by the
Corporation solely for the public service to be provided by the Corporation.
(9) To enable the Corporation to establish and maintain a national databaseregister listing all sales of new television sets in the Republic, dealers, lessors
and businesses must provide the Corporation with all information prescribed in
respect of sales of new television sets.
[Section 27 substituted by Section 22of Act No. 64 of 2002]
Annual report
28. (1) The Board must furnish to the Minister, on or before 30 September in each
year, a report on the work of the Corporation of the previous financial year,
together with a balance sheet and a complete statement of revenue and
expenditure for that financial year audited by the auditor referred to in section25, and the report of that auditor, and must give particulars as to-
(a) the book value of all classes of property owned by the Corporation;(b) the amount of securities for loans still outstanding, and the interest
thereon, whether paid or unpaid;
(c) the position of every fund established in terms of this Act;(d) the expenses of management and administration and all other expenses
of the Corporation;(e) the erection and construction, repair, improvement or alteration of any
plant, equipment or building, and the cost thereof;
(f) the price or rent of any land or any other immovable property acquiredor hired;
(g) any other matters which the Minister may require the Board to deal with(2) The Minister must table every report furnished in terms of subsection (1) in
Parliament, within seven days after receiving it if Parliament is in session, or, if
Parliament is not in session, within seven days after the commencement of itsnext ensuing session.
(3) The Board must ensure that the Corporation complies with the provisions of
the Public Finance Management Act relating to the preparation and submissionof annual reports by public entities.
[Subsection (3) added by Section 23of Act No. 64 of 2002]
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CHAPTER V
COMMERCIAL BROADCASTING SERVICES
Part l: Licence requirements and objectives
Requirement to hold a licence
29.
[Section 29 repealed by Section 97 of Act No. 36 of 2005]
Objectives
30.
[Subsection (8) added by Section 24(b) of Act No. 64 of 2002]
[Section 30 repealed by Section 97 of Act No. 36 of 2005]
Part 2: Subscription broadcasting service
Subscription television service
31.
[Section 4 repealed by Section 97 of Act No. 36 of 2005]
CHAPTER V1
COMMUNITY BROADCASTING SERVICES
Community broadcasting services
32.
[Section 32 repealed by Section 97 of Act No. 36 of 2005]
CHAPTER V11
SIGNAL DISTRIBUTION AND MULTI-CHANNEL DISTRIBUTIONS
Part l: Signal distribution and objectives
Signal distribution
33.
[Section 33 repealed by Section 97 of Act No. 36 of 2005]
Objectives
34.
[Section 34 repealed by Section 97 of Act No. 36 of 2005]
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2Part 2: Multi-channel distributors
Multi-channel distributors
35.
[Section 35 repealed by Section 97 of Act No. 36 of 2005]
Objectives
36.
[Section 36 repealed by Section 97 of Act No. 36 of 2005]
CHAPTER V111
FREQUENCY SPECTRUM DIRECTORATE
Frequency Spectrum Directorate
37.
[Section 37 repealed by Section 97 of Act No. 36 of 2005]
CHAPTER IX
ADVISORY BODY TO MINISTER
South African Broadcast Production Advisory Body
38. (1) The Minister must establish a South African Broadcast Production Advisory
Body to advise him or her on how the development, production and display oflocal television and radio content can be supported.
(2) The terms and conditions of allowances, composition and meetingsapplicable to the Advisory Body by virtue of its appointment in terms of
subsection (1) must be as determined by the Minister in concurrence with the
Minister of Finance.
(3) The Advisory Body must advise the Minister on how to encourage,facilitate and offer guidance and advice in respect of any scheme and to
promote -(a) the production of broadcast materials that meet the cultural needs of
South Africans:(b) the screening and airplay of South African content in television and
radio, respectively;
(c) awareness of local content in South African and foreign markets;(d) distribution and exhibition of local content in foreign markets;(e) the correction of imbalances in the local content industry;(f) human resource development to provide skills and training of local
content providers;(g) co-productions and the concluding of international agreements
(4) The Advisory Body must, after consultation with the National Film and
Video Foundation and the broadcasting industry, make recommendations for
the Minister to determine after consultation with the Minister of Arts, Culture,
Science and Technology, the Minister of Trade and Industry and the Minister ofFinance
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(a) policy and strategies to give effect to the production and display of localcontent;
(b) financing strategies to support the production and display of localcontent;
(c) supply-side measures and initiatives to support the production of localcontent;(d) policies to enhance the production of local content for the multi-channel
and digital broadcasting environment
CHAPTER X
SKILLS DEVELOPMENT
This Chapter relates to the use of broadcasting as a resource in support of both the
formal and informal education. The need for the broadcasting system as a whole to offer
programming which is in formative and increase the public understanding of
development is emphasised.
Human resources development
39.
[Section 39 repealed by Section 97 of Act No. 36 of 2005]
CHAPTER XI
GENERAL
Regulations
40. (1) The Minister may, by notice in the Gazette, make regulations regarding-
(a) [Paragraph (a) repealed by Section 97 of Act No. 36 of 2005]
(b) [Paragraph (b) repealed by Section 97 of Act No. 36 of 2005]
(c) (i) the television licence fee which is payable for any television licenceissued in terms of this Act, including the manner of payment and the
collection thereof, penalties and ancillary costs;(ii) the period of validity of a television licence;
(iii) the purpose for which and the place where a television set may be
used;(iv) different categories of television licences which any user of a
television set may be required to possess;
(v) the duty to keep, maintain and furnish records and information,
including a duty to supply the Corporation with such records and
information as may be prescribed;(vi) exemptions from the obligation to be in possession of a television
licence; and
(vii) the transferability of a television licence.
[Paragraph (c) added by Section 29of Act No. 64 of 2002]
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SCHEDULE
LAWS AMENDED OR REPEALED
No. and year oflaw
Short title Extent of amendment orrepeal
Act No. 73 of
1976
Act No. 153 of1993
Broadcasting Act, 1976
Independent Broadcasting Act,1993
The repeal of the whole.
In this Act, unless the contextotherwise indicates,
broadcasting, broadcasting
signal distribution, broadcastingservice: encryption, private
broadcasting service, public
broadcasting service,
community, broadcastingservices frequency bands, have
the meaning assigned thereto insection 1 of the Broadcasting
Act of 1998.
1.Amendment of section 1 bythe insertion of the following
definitions:(a) " 'low power sound
broadcasting service'
means a community,
Private or public soundbroadcasting service which
radiates power not
exceeding one watt;";(b) " 'National Revenue
Fund' means the Fundestablished by section 213
of the Constitution;";(c) " 'financial interest'
means interest that may not
have voting rights attached
to it but which gives the
person or entity a financialinterest directly via shares
or indirectly via an
agreement giving it the
power to have control ofthe licensee or effective say
over the affairs of thelicensee.".
2. Amendment of section 1 by
the substitution for the
definition of"election period''
of the following definition:" 'election period' means the
period commencing with the
date on which the election day
is proclaimed and ending on the
day immediately following
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upon the day on which
candidates of any of thepolitical parties are declared
elected.".
3. Amendment of section 2 bythe substitution for "private" to
"commercial", wherever it
appears.
4. Amendment of section 10 bythe substitution for subsection
(4) of the Following subsection:
(4) The quorum for any meeting
of the Council shall be four
councilors or a majority of thetotal number of councillors
holding office at the time,
whichever is the greater.".
5. Substitution for section 13 ofthe
following section:
"General powers and
functions of
Authority13. (1) Without derogation from
the generality of the provisions
of section 3, the Authority shall.
in addition to powers conferredupon it elsewhere in this Act. or
by any other law, have the
power -(a) to administer the statutory
scheme for granting,renewing and amending of
broadcasting licences;(b) to manage broadcasting
services frequency bands
and other parts of the radio
frequency spectrum
properly delegated to it bythe Minister as outlined in
section 29 of this Act;(c) to make regulations
consistent with section 2 ofthe Broadcasting Act,
1998, as set out in section78 of this Act;
(d) to design and implementBroadcasting conditions of
licence consistent with the
objectives set out in section2 of the Broadcasting Act.
1998. for different
categories of broadcasting
service, including, but not
limited to conditions
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relating to-
(i) local contentrequirements;
(ii) programme
requirements;(iii) coverage obligations;
(iv) language service
provision;
(v) ownership and controlcompliance;
(vi) compliance with the
Code of Conduct for
Broadcasting Services;
and(vii) empowerment of
historically
disadvantaged groups;
(e)
to specify the frequencycharacteristics of
broadcasting services;(f) to undertake inquiries on
all matters within its
jurisdiction, including the
holding of public hearings;(g) to submit an annual report
to the Minister on all
matters within its
jurisdiction, including butnot limited to -
the audited report set out in
section 20 of this Act;
(i) the issuance, renewaland amendment of
licences as set out in
section 20(3)(c) of thisAct;
(ii) compliance with
standards;
(iii) spectrum planning andallocation:
(iv) progress on meeting
local content
requirements:(v) details of all inquiries
undertaken within theyear;
(vi) statistical overview of
the broadcasting
environment;
(vii) a status quo of theorganisation of the
Independent
Broadcasting
(viii) Authority, including its
executives from the
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rank of Head of
Department(ix) and above;
(h) to monitor the broadcastingindustry to ensurecompliance with
broadcasting laws and
regulations as well as with
community standards inprogramming, as set out in
section 66 of this Act;(i) to conduct research in all
matters affecting
broadcasting in order toperform its regulatory role;
(j) each year to publish aproposed regulatory agenda
for the ensuing three years;(k) to make recommendationsto the Minister for
amendments to this Act andthe Broadcasting Act,
1998, so as to align them
with the current industry
and public policyenvironment;
(l) to review and consider anytechnical matters relating to
broadcasting referred to it
by the Minister and to
make recommendations to
the Minister with respect
thereto;to be consulted by the
Minister with regard to any
matters to be put before
Parliament pursuant torequests made under
paragraph (g);
(m) to hold public hearings.(2) The President shall, on the
advice of the National
Assembly, appoint thechairperson of the Authority.".
6. Insertion of the followingsection after section 13:
"General role and powers of
Minister
13A. (1) No acquisition or
disposal of State broadcastingassets is valid unless it is
approved by the Minister.
(2) The Minister may direct the
Authority -(a) to undertake any special
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investigation and inquire
on any matter within itsjurisdiction and to report to
the Minister thereon:
(b) to determine priorities forthe services:(c) to consider any matter
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expenditure controls
(b) The Authority, in
performing its functions in
terms of this Act, must consider
any policy direction issued bythe Minister under paragraph(a).
(c) No such direction may be
issued regarding the granting ofa licence or regarding the
amendment, suspension or
revocation of a licence.(d)No such direction may be
issued which interferes with the
independence of the Authority
or which affects the powers andfunctions of the Authority.
(6) The Minister shall, before apolicy direction contemplated
in subsection (5) is issued -(a) consult the Authority;(b) in order to obtain the view
of interested persons, causethe text of such direction to
be published in the Gazette
together with a notice
declaring his or herintention to issue that
direction and inviting
interested persons to lodge
written representations in
relation to the direction inthe manner specified in
such notice within 30 days
from the date of the notice:(c) refer the proposed
direction for comment to
the committees of
Parliament appointed forthe purpose of considering
matters relating to
broadcasting.(7) The provision of subsection(6) shall not apply in respect of
any amendment by the Ministerof a policy direction inconsequence of comments or
representations received by him
or her pursuant to consultation,
publication or reference interms of that subsection
(8) A policy direction issued
under this section may be
amended, withdrawn or
substituted by the Minister, and
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the provisions of this section
shall apply, with the necessarychanges, in relation to any such
amendment, withdrawal or
substitution.(9) The Minister shall table in
Parliament the annual or any
other reports of the Authority.".
7. Amendment of section 14 bythe substitution for .subsections
(1) and (3) of the following
subsections:"(1) The Council shall appoint a
suitably qualified and
experienced person as [chief
administrative officer] chiefexecutive officer of the
Authority for the purpose ofassisting the Council, subject to
the latter's direction and control
in the performance of allfinancial, administrative and
clerical functions and workarising from the application and
administration of this Act.
(3)Subject to the provisions of
subsection (4), the Authoritymay pay to the persons in its
employ, or provide them with,
such remuneration, allowances,
bonuses, subsidies, housing
benefits, pensions and otheremployment benefits as [the
Authority may, after having
obtained such professional
advice as it may deem fit,
consider as being competitive
in the open employment
market] is consistent with thepublic sector.".
8. Amendment of section 15 by
the substitution for subsection
(1) of the following subsection:"(1) (a) The operating and
capital costs of the Authorityshall be financed from moneyappropriated by
Parliament from time to time
for that purpose.(b) The Authority shall utiliseany money contemplated in
paragraph (a) in accordance
with the statement of estimated
expenditure referred to in
paragraph (c).
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(c) The Authority -
(i) shall in each financialyear at a time
determined by the
Minister, submit astatement of estimated
income and
expenditure for the
following financialyear to the Minister for
his or her approval,
granted in consultation
with the Minister of
Finance;(ii) may in any financial
year submit adjusted
statements of
estimated income andexpenditure to the
Minister for his or her
approval, granted inconsultation with the
Minister of Finance;
and
(iii) may retain applicationfees for administration
purposes.".
9. Repeal of section 16.
10. Amendment of section 17
by the substitution for
subsection (2) of the Following
subsection:"(2) Cheques drawn on the
Authority shall have been duly
issued and signed on its behalfif issued under the joint
signatures of any two members
of the staff of the Authority
[from time to time authorized
for that purpose by special
resolution of the Council] as
designated by the chairperson
from time to time. " .11. Substitution for section 18
of the following section:"Investment of surplus
moneys
18. All fees and penalties
received in terms of section 67
shall be paid into the NationalRevenue Fund.".
12. Section 40 is hereby
repealed.
13. Amendment of section 41-(a) by the substitution for
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subsection (6) of the
following subsection:"(6) Within [l4] 30 days of
receipt of any application
in terms of this section, theAuthority shall cause to be
published in the Gazette a
notice containing all the
material particulars of theapplication and inviting
interested persons to lodge
[their] written
representations in relation
to the application in themanner specified in such
notice within [one month]
30 days or such shorter
period as from the date ofsuch notice as may be
determined by the
Authority, which may notbe less than 10 days.";
(b) by the substitution forsubsection (8) of the
following subsection:"(8) The applicant shall
submit his or her written
response (if any) to anyrepresentations lodged in
terms of subsection (7) to
the Authority within [two
months] 60days of the
date of the noticecontemplated in subsection
(6), and shall at the same
time furnish proof to the
satisfaction of theAuthority that he or she has
sent by registered post or
delivered a copy of suchwritten response to the
person having made such
representations.";
(c) by the insertion aftersubsection (8) of thefollowing subsection, withsubsection (9) becoming
subsection (10):
"(9) Save for
representations made undersubsection (6), the response
of the applicant under
subsection (8) and such
further information as the
applicant furnishes under
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written response thereto (if
any), any [further] otherinformation furnished in
terms of section 41 and any
other evidence [tenderedto] admitted by the
Authority, shall within a
reasonable time grant or
refuse the application andshall subsequently provide
written reasons for its
[ruling] decision by notice
in the Gazette and give
notice of the availability ofthe reasons at the office of
the Authority.".
16. Amendment of section 48
by the substitution forparagraph (b) of sub-section (1)
of the following paragraph:(b) have financial interestor interest either in voting
shares or paid-up capital in
a private broadcasting